Dan Brown: The Lost SymbolHis newest novel is full of spiritual truths, historical facts, and information about our nation's forefathers, many of whom were members of the Masons. An exciting story even if there are some gaps in logic that left me shaking my head. He's not the best writer, but he does a lot of research into his subject matter.

Patricia Panahi: God Outside the Box: A Story of Breaking FreeI enjoyed Patricia's book and related to her spiritual quest and exploration of many different paths, religions and beliefs. The daughter of a Muslim father and Catholic mother, Patricia grew up in Iran and later came to the United States, where she began her quest to find God "outside the box". From rebirthing to shamanism,Hinduism to metaphysics, I felt like I was reliving my own spiritual journey. Patricia explores many concepts and ideas in her book, such as synchronicity, reincarnation, and sacred contracts. I was never bored. In fact, I didn't want the book to end. I'm now looking forward to her next book

Deepak Chopra: The Third Jesus: The Christ We Cannot IgnoreThe Jesus that Chopra presents to us is a teacher of God consciousness and a walking example of one who lived in this state of consciousness. I most resonate with this Jesus and even those who do not see themselves as Christians will be inspired and fed by the teachings of Jesus as they are presented by Chopra.

Elizabeth Gilbert: Eat Pray LoveA delightful memoir about Gilbert's one-year sabbatical following her divorce. She seeks to find pleasure again in Italy, to find God in an ashram in India, and balance in Indonesia learning from an old medicine man. A spiritual journey (and, in the end, a love story) that is fun, humorous and wonderfully told.

Byron Katie: Loving What IsThis book gives you the key to unlocking the door that can lead to a life of inner peace and joy. If everyone in the world would read this book there would be no more war.

Charles Fillmore: Metaphysical Bible DictionaryBased on the teachings of Jesus Christ, this book provides the esoteric meanings of words, names and places. A valuable resource for all Bible students who want to delve into metaphysical interpretation of scripture.

Yesterday, I attended the funeral of my Aunt Louise. Not caught up in perfectionism, like my (love you, Mom) dear mother, Aunt Louise believed that life was too short and having fun was the most important thing. If you wanted to get a picture in your mind of Aunt Louise, she reminded me a bit of Aunt Bea on the Andy Griffith Show. She had the same smile and sparkle in her eyes and she loved to laugh.

Before the funeral, my aunt's granddaughter pulled me over to the side and shared that before she died, Aunt Louise made the comment that my father had come to help her cross over. It didn't surprise me in the least bit as I thought he might. Before my father died back in 2002, he saw his mother who had died when he was four years old. I had spoken to him alone one day and told him that from my experience working with the dying, that many people had a loved one come to them to help make the transition. He had so longed for her to be the one. And sure emough, before he died he said, "Momma". I knew then that he'd gotten his wish.

In the book, Final Gifts, by hospice nurses Maggie Callanan and Patricia Kelley, the concept of Nearing Death Awarenenss is the primary topic. Nearing Death Awareness includes such things as seeing and communicating with loved ones who have already died and seeing what lies beyond this life (similar to Near Death experiences). These experiences of the dying can be their "final gift" to love ones, if we're aware and don't pass them off as being hallucinations or dreams. Not only are these experiences comforting to the dying, but they also bring comfort to us who are left behind as well.

Knowing that Aunt Louise is now with her little brother--my dad--is a comfort to our whole family. We can picture them telling their stories about the old days and laughing, just like they did at our family gatherings for so many years.

I am aware, this time of year, that there are many who are experiencing grief. It may partially be because I work for a hospice; but I also know from my own experience that this can be a difficult time.

As we contemplate celebrating another Christmas or Hanukkah or whatever holiday we celebrate, it is natural to think of holidays past. We recall the happy times with loved ones and some of those loved ones may be gone from our lives through death, divorce, or estrangement. We may have suffered another loss, such as a job or our health. Waves of sadness wash over us as we feel our loss more acutely at this time of holiday celebrations.

My belief is that if sadness is what we are feeling, then we should allow it to be there--to even embrace it. It is normal. The grief comes when it comes and rather than suppressing it or avoiding it we should move through it. It is part of our human experience.

What we should not do is to stay there. In the Lord's Prayer we read "And though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death...." It does not say that we should set up camp in that valley. Our minister in Chicago used to remind us that in the Bible they often used the expression "And it came to pass." He'd laugh and say, "In other words, it didn't come to stay."

Yes, it does pass. The grief does pass, the heartache, pain and sadness does lift and lessen over time. Where we are today is not where we will be next year at this time. There is always hope.

As so many people remind us in books, songs, and the sermons of ministers...it is helpful to focus on what we do have in our lives at this time. Yes, we all have losses, endings in our lives, but we all have new beginnings as well. Maybe, by helping someone else who is experiencing loss of some kind, we can be reminded of all that we have for which to be grateful.

On September 13, I blogged about Divine Appointments and shared a wonderful story about Tom and Rita and how they came into one another's lives. On the very day that I posted that story, my husband and I had our own "Divine Appointment" encounter.

We had decided to go walking in a park that is about six miles from where we live. We are fortunate that there are many parks in this area and so we have much to choose from. My husband chose this particular one. We walked about a mile and a half and then decided to turn around and walk back. We talked as we walked and were deep in conversation when I glanced down the path and saw a man that looked familiar. I said to Bob, "That man looks like Craig." Craig is our classmate from seminary at Unity Village. We had graduated seven years before and had seen some of our classmates occasionally at conferences, but we hadn't seen Craig in about six years.

As we continued to walk and got closer, the man looked so much like Craig that I was stunned. But Craig lived in Nevada. It couldn't be him. But it was. As we came up to one another we all hugged. He was with a friend of his that lived in the area. It turns out that he was in town for a music conference. We chatted for awhile and then said our goodbyes, shaking our heads at the synchronicity of the meeting.

Have you ever been thinking of someone and then picked up the phone to hear their voice after they have called you? Last year, I began to reach out to some old friends that I had been thinking about. It was good to reconnect. There was one college roommate that I could not find. Just this week, she found me on Facebook.

Whether it's about us setting an intention or the energy or power that we call God or Love at work in our lives, these things happen. We can look at them as a coincidence or "small world", but maybe we should see them differently, as I mentioned in the article from September 13. Maybe we should acknowledge them as an important encounter that happens for a reason and that we have set in motion through our inner desire or an intention that we have set. If we believe that there is but one Mind and that we all share that Mind, then that could also explain it.

Even if we do not have an explanation that makes sense to us or that we feel comfortable with, it is enough to just accept it is a gift from the Universe. The joy that comes from seeing someone we haven't seen in years is reason enough to give thanks and for which to feel grateful.

I recently read an article entitled “We Must Lead Ourselves Before We Can Lead Others”. That idea struck me as being spot on. I believe the most enlightened and successful leaders are those who are consistently growing and changing. They are growing as a result of their own spiritual journey and are using the gifts from life challenges to evolve in consciousness and then inspire others to do the same.

Enlightened leaders realize that growth comes from letting go—of the way things have been, ideas and beliefs that have been outgrown and are inconsistent with desired results, and behaviors that are habitual or self-defeating and not in integrity. Often, something has to “die” in order for new growth can take place. The apostle Paul wrote, “I die daily.” If we are truly allowing ourselves to grow and change, this is true for us. If we are stuck in our old habits, comfort zones, ideas and ways of behaving, then it isn’t.

The enlightened leaders acknowledge that they don’t have all the answers and are willing to live with ambiguity. They are open-minded about answers, open to the suggestions of others and don’t see things as black or white, right or wrong, good or bad. They see that things can be “both/and” rather than “either/or” and are inclusive in their approach to leadership.

When I think of the enlightened leaders that I have known, they have inspired me to be a better person, sharing their experiences, challenges and mistakes and being able to laugh at them as well as learn from them. The greatest of these leaders stand out because of their compassion and caring hearts. They genuinely care about the organizations and people they are serving. It isn't just a job. When the heart and mind are engaged, it comes together. But if the heart isn’t engaged, there is a shallowness, something missing. The saying that comes to mind is, “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.” I don’t know who said it, but I agree with it.

Think about the enlightened leaders you have known. What characteristics did they have? Are you striving to emulate those leaders in your own life? Are you leading yourself before you seek to lead others?

I woke up this morning thinking about the people at Unity Church of Olympia, Washington. My husband and I were at the church this last weekend. It was a "try-out" weekend where both sides--the congregation and we, as their potential ministers, get a chance to to get to know each other. It is kind of like dating and I couldn't help thinking about the shows "The Bachelor" or "The Bachelorette". You have a very short time together to find out if you're compatible and want to commit to one another. But, like these shows, you are not the only candidate. In this case, there are two other candidates to follow over the next two weekends.

Bob and I have gone through this process several times before, one of which was in Hollywood, Florida where we served as ministers previously. Before we visited Unity of Hollywood, we went to two other churches, both of which had great people. Both of these churches felt strongly about us and were ready to hire us as their ministers. But we knew in our hearts that neither church was "our church". It was an intuitive knowing, a feeling that came to us. So as we left both of these congregations after our try-out weekends, there was a sadness that came over us, but also a knowing that Divine Order was established and that there would be a congregation that was right for us.

When we went to Unity of Hollywood, we were not sure what we would find. We had been warned that this was a congregation that had gone through a lot of loss and was in need of healing. Other ministers had tactfully told us that we might want to reconsider going there, that it was maybe biting off more than we could chew. And yet, at Unity of Hollywood we had a wonderful feeling and there were signs that this was, indeed, our church. One of the signs was rather humorous. A huge lizard appeared in a tree outside a window in the sanctuary during our talk that Sunday. He or she watched us throughout the service. We were later told that this lizard had not made an appearance since the previous minister's death.

The other sign was more visceral--a heart-quickening, soul connection and feeling of being home with family when we were with the people of the church. We left knowing that this was our church. And sure enough, they felt it too.

This last weekend, with the people of Unity of Olympia, reminded us of our trip to Unity of Hollywood, and coincidentally, both try-out weekends occurred in the month of July, right around the time of my birthday. The people were warm and friendly, had open hearts and minds, were generous and compassionate, ready to reach out into the outside community and get involved, and to take a leap of faith. My husband and I found ourselves falling in love--not with each other, that had happened a long time ago--but with these people. As the weekend was drawing to a close, I could feel the emotions rising within me, the tears coming to my eyes. Would I ever see these people again? I wondered. The "Hello" Committee and Council of Trustees members asked how we were feeling in the last few minutes before we went back to our hotel. Bob put it this way, "It's like you're falling in love but don't want to get your heart broken."

When you love someone, you want the best for them. That is what we want for the people of Unity of Olympia. We trust that God/Spirit is at work in this process and that when the time comes for a decision, the right and perfect minister(s) will be chosen. Until then, our thoughts and prayers will be with these people who have most assuredly left their footprints on our hearts.

It's Mother's Day and mothers all across the country are being taken out to dinner and presented with cards, flowers, and other tokens of love and appreciation. Yesterday, at Wal-Mart, I was in line at the checkout behind a girl who looked to be about 13. She had a single rose, a bottle of perfume and a package of gum laid out in front of her. She took a wad of $1 bills from her pocket and counted them out. She had just enough to cover the gifts that she intended to give her mom.

I heard an interview the other day with mothers from different parts of the country and the common theme was that no mother thought she was perfect. They all felt that they had let down their children in one way or the other. None of them expressed that they were satisfied with their performance in their role as mother.

My mom wasn't perfect. She did a lot of things that I needed to forgive her for later. But from where I am right now in my consciousness, I believe that she was the perfect mother for me. Can you say that about your mom?

There are two things that I believe that help me embrace this idea. One is that we do not die. Our bodies die, but our souls live on. When you believe that nothing is truly fatal and that we will live on in some form or another, whatever happens to us in this current lifetime cannot endanger the eternal nature of our souls.

The second thing I believe is that our souls choose to be born into a certain situation and body for the purpose of learning lessons and experiencing life from a different perspective from the last lifetime (yes, I believe in reincarnation). In other words, we may actually choose our own mother and father. Maybe we've been with them in other lifetimes and perhaps we have even been their parent that time around.

Not only would we choose our mother to learn lessons in our relationship with her, but perhaps we agreed to provide her with an experience that her soul needed for its spiritual evolvement.

The book, The Little Soul and the Sun by Neale Donald Walsch is a wonderful illlustration of this idea. The "Little Soul" decides that it wants to learn about the concept of forgiveness and another soul agrees to show up in its life to do something that would require the Little Soul to forgive. It helps us to see the acts of others as more of a gift to us rather than something that we might see as needing to forgive. It also can help us see that perhaps we are not the victims in life, but maybe the orchestrators of situations in our lives for our highest good (remember, we are eternal, spiritual beings having a human experience).

As you consider your own mother, whether you saw her as the most wonderful mother in the world or a woman who you would have gladly traded in for a new model, think about what you learned in your relationship with that mother. What did you learn about yourself? What spiritual growth has come from your relationship with this other soul? Who are you as a person that you wouldn't have been without her presence in your life? Can you truly acknowledge that although this woman may not have been perfect, that maybe she was the perfect mother for you to evolve spiritually and awaken to the beauty and power of your true nature? It may be a big step for you, but it can be life changing. Try working with this idea and see what happens.

Every now and then, I get one of these emails with a story that touches my heart and gives me hope for mankind. The link below is to a short video of a story of friendship between two unlikely animals. I couldn't watch it without tears coming to my eyes. The message? If these two creatures can form such a bond--why can't we humans learn to get along and love one another despite our differences?

A fellow New Thought minister and online friend wrote this poem. It moved me deeply. If you grew up in an abusive home, you may relate to her pain. Susanne has now found love in her life. She has done a lot of healing and is now helping others. It is a testament to the strength and courage of her spirit and the power of love. If you are experiencing abuse in your life right now, reach out for help. Tell someone--a pastor, friend, the police. If you are an abuser, the same is true: reach out for help. Now.

The most beautiful people are those who have known defeat, known suffering, known struggle, known loss, and have found their way out of the depths. These persons have an appreciation, a sensitivity and an understanding of life that fills them with compassion, gentleness, and a deep loving concern. Beautiful people do not just happen." --Elisabeth Kubler-Ross

A beautiful person sent me this quote yesterday. She has been going through some challenges, or "growth opportunities", as some of us have called them. If you are also going through a G.O. right now, isn't it somewhat comforting to know that you will come out of it as a more compassionate person, someone who is better able to help others?

Have you ever shared your sorrows with someone and you could tell that they had no understanding for what you were experiencing? And haven't there been others who you shared your pain with and you could see in their eyes compassion and empathy and maybe even a few tears? You knew that they understood.

When you first saw the title to this article, you probably thought that it was about physical beauty. Am I right? Well, it's time to look at beauty in a different way and see that physical attractiveness is merely that. But true beauty is something that radiants from the inside out.

(The picture is of Amy Turner Tunick who made her transition back in 2006. She lived with pancreatic cancer for 32 mos. Beautiful, inside and out, Amy wrote the "Feel Good" column in a local newspaper in Florida during her illness. She inspired many to stay positive and to never lose hope.)

Friday was my last day at the place I worked. I spent much of the day saying goodbye, something that I hate to do. I had been working at a senior care center as a volunteer coordinator and so I had the residents, staff and my volunteers to say goodbye to over the last few days that I worked. I found it to be very emotionally draining. I came home exhausted and went to bed early.

Some of the people that I expected might be the most upset about me leaving were the ones that took it the best, at least it appeared that way. Other individuals that I thought would not care that much reacted with much more emotion. One of the residents at the center grabbed my hand and was very tearful. My heart clenched.

We never really know how goodbyes are going to be accepted by those who are on the receiving end. If the other person has recently undergone another major loss in their life, our leaving may be a reminder and may trigger unresolved grief. Endings that come during the holidays are even more apt to bring up emotions, as we're reminded of loved ones who are no longer in our lives.

There are some people that, facing a loss, go into a state of denial. There are those that withdraw, maybe to the point of not having any contact with the person who is leaving. For them, goodbye is so painful that they would just rather not deal with it.

Goodbyes are a chance for us to share with others what they have meant to us. When we leave without giving others the chance to share their feelings, we are doing them a disservice as well as ourselves.

Most of us don't like goodbyes, whether we're the one being left or the one leaving, but goodbyes are a part of life. There are healthy ways to handle goodbyes, however. The most important thing is to acknowledge our feelings. Rather than deny the pain and sadness that we are feeling, it helps to actually say, "I'm feeling sad." Be willing to feel the emotions that are involved. Sometimes there is anger in addition to the pain and sadness. That is normal. Part of being human is to have emotions. The important thing is to experience and process the feelings, whatever they are, and then move on. If we stay stuck in the anger or sadness we live in the past.

If there is someone you need to say goodbye to in the future, remember to feel the emotions, share your feelings, and give the person that you're saying goodbye to a chance to share theirs. You may be surprised at the impact that you've had on that person and how much they care about you. It is a healthy way of bringing closure to the relationship. And if someone says goodbye to you, keep in mind that endings always lead to new beginnings.

I have selected photographs that make me smile and brighten my day. I hope they will do that for you as well. Click on the photos to see an enlarged view. I invite you to visit often and see what I add to my collection.